Innovation in Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management-Replication Strategies for Developing Cities in Asia

For Asian developing cities, successful MSW management practice should evolve based on low-cost technology, utilization of local resources, community participation and partnership among various actors involved with equity in benefit and risk sharing. Dhaka's community-based decentralized composting is a successful demonstration of solid waste management evolved on the key criteria listed above. Such models have to be ‘location-specific’ and hence they need to be derived based on local conditions. However, for the other similar cities to attempt this successful model, it is essential to identify the necessary conditions and the strategies that are required to be in place for their replication. And it is equally important to have their priorities in place so as to strategize their replication. The present study examined the Dhaka model and identified thirteen strategies required for its replication. It further assessed these strategies based on various criteria, namely transferability, longevity, economic viability, adaptation and also overall replication. Priority setting by multi-criteria analysis by applying the analytic hierarchy process revealed that immediate transferability without long-term and economic viability consideration is not advisable as this would result in unsustainable replication of this model. Based on the analysis, measures to ensure the product quality control; partnership among stakeholders (public-private-community); strategies to achieve better involvement of the private sector in solid waste management (entrepreneurship in approach); simple and low-cost technology; and strategies to provide an effective interface among the complementing sectors are identified as important strategies for its replication.